In a conventional computer system configuration, a network interface card, such as a wireless local area network (LAN) interface card for supporting communication in accordance with the well-known IEEE 802.11b standard, is often incorporated into the computer itself. For example, a typical configuration involves insertion oft he card into a designated slot within the computer housing. FIG. 1 shows a conventional desktop computer system 100 configured in this manner. The computer system 100 includes a computer 102 having attached thereto a number of peripherals including a monitor 104 and a keyboard 106. A wireless network interface card 110 is embedded within the computer 102, via insertion in an appropriate card slot or otherwise, and communicates with the computer over an internal bus interface such as a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus. A problem with this type of configuration is that the network interface card is immersed in the internal environment of the computer, such that it is subject to radio frequency (RF) noise. Since the network interface card is itself a wireless RF device, placing it within the computer in this manner can negatively impact the performance of the card. For example, the data throughput of the card may be reduced.
Another possible configuration involves attaching the network interface card to the computer as an external stand-alone peripheral. The connection between the computer and the peripheral may be made using a conventional Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable or Ethernet connection. FIG. 2 shows a conventional arrangement of this type. A computer system 200 includes computer 202, monitor 204 and keyboard 206 arranged as shown. A network interface card is attached to the computer 202 as a stand-alone peripheral 210. The connection between computer 202 and the stand-alone network interface card peripheral 210 is made via a cable 212 which, as indicated above, may represent a USB or Ethernet connection.
In the FIG. 2 configuration, the network interface card peripheral is a stand-alone peripheral, separate from other common computer peripherals such as keyboards, monitors, speakers, docking stations and so on. Unfortunately, the requirement of an additional peripheral to provide the network interface card unduly increases the number of peripherals and associated connections, thereby complicating the system configuration.
It is also known in the art to connect certain computer peripherals to the computer via a wireless link. For example, a wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth may be used as a “wire replacement” in systems such as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. This means that instead of a keyboard or mouse using a cable to connect to the computer, these peripheral devices would connect to the computer over a wireless Bluetooth link. Similarly, some existing computers have infrared links to keyboards or other peripherals. A typical example of such an arrangement is the wireless keyboard disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,359 entitled “System for RF Communication Between a Computer and a Remote Wireless Data Input Device.” These and other existing wireless interface arrangements, however, fail to address the problems identified above regarding conventional stand-alone network interface card peripherals.
In view of the foregoing, it is apparent that what is needed is an improved arrangement for incorporating network interface circuitry into a computer system or other system comprising one or more information processing devices.